Tampico Expedition

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The Battle of Tampico happened on November 15, 1835, in Tamaulipas, Mexico. General José Antonio Mexía led 150 American volunteers against Gregorio Gómez Palomino and the Mexican Centralist garrison. This was part of a larger struggle between Mexico’s Centralists and Federalists, which also affected the Texas fight for independence.

Origin of the conflict
- In 1833, General Santa Anna became President of Mexico and gave power to the liberal Vice President Valentín Gómez Farías. Gómez Farías implemented reforms that affected the army and the Catholic Church.
- Conservatives were upset, and Santa Anna returned to lead the reaction against liberal reforms. Gómez Farías and his supporters fled to the United States.
- When the revolt began in October 1835, many Texians (Texas settlers) still supported Mexico. On November 7, 1835, a meeting in San Felipe de Austin called “The Consultation” stated that Texians defended the Mexican Constitution of 1824. This encouraged Santa Anna’s opponents in the U.S.

Mexía’s expedition
- José Antonio Mexía and other opponents of Santa Anna fled to New Orleans and planned to resist the Centralist government from Tamaulipas, Mexico.
- Mexía said capturing Tampico would deal a heavy blow to the Centralists. He raised a force in New Orleans in October 1835.
- On October 29, Mexía told Texian leaders he had equipped the armed schooner Mary Jane with a 12-pound cannon, two 8-pound cannons, and a crew of 50, plus 150 men ready for land service. The expedition included grenadiers, sharpshooters, volunteers, and a small marine corps.
- The expedition left New Orleans on November 6, 1835. The Mary Jane’s captain, Richard Hall, said their destination was Galveston and Matagorda, with cargo including flour, beef, pork, fish, hardware, and potatoes.

The voyage and the landing
- A storm pushed the ship off course. Mexía’s staff then told the crew the plan was Tampico, not Texas.
- The Mary Jane reached the bar at Tampico (mouth of the Panuco River) on November 14. A storm blew the ship onto the sandbar and it began taking on water.
- To lighten the ship, the crew threw artillery and supplies overboard. Captain John M. Allen and Hall went ashore to reach the port fort.
- The Tampico garrison quickly surrendered the fort and its three 24-pound cannons to Mexía and even joined the expedition.

The battle and aftermath
- On November 15, Mexía and his 150 supporters moved inland and tried to capture Tampico.
- The Tampico garrison, loyal to the Centralists, fortified the customs house and were reinforced by the Tuxpan Battalion. Federalist supporters had already been crushed by the Centralists.
- Fighting began when a guard spotted the invaders. The garrison fired cannons, killing two Mexía men; Mexía’s forces rushed the cannons and killed several defenders.
- The battle lasted about two hours. Mexía’s men took the customs house and two cannons, and the defenders retreated to a nearby fort.
- With ammunition running low, Mexía ordered a retreat. He and his men boarded the American schooner Halcyon and sailed to the Brazos River mouth. Thirty-one of the Mary Jane’s men were captured, three died of wounds, and the remaining twenty-eight were executed on December 14, 1835.

Consequences
- Mexía’s defeat convinced many Texians that Mexico’s Federalists would not help them, increasing tensions.
- Mexico labeled the expedition as piracy, and the government adopted a harsh no-quarter approach, later echoed in the Tornel Decree.

In short, the Tampico Expedition was an early, failed Federalist attempt to challenge the Centralist government, with lasting impact on attitudes in Texas toward Mexico and the fight for independence.